River links his arms around the back of my neck and looks up at me sweetly. “You’ll be my sexy old man sometime, but not quite yet. A brief stint at relaxation isn’t going to cancel out the weeks of stress and overwork we’ve both been through. Let’s just listen to our bodies and take it easy.”
“You’re probably right,” I grudgingly admit, “but it goes against my strongly ingrained work ethic.”
He snorts. “You mean your workaholic tendencies?”
“Uh… perhaps.”
He chuckles. “In all seriousness though, we should take advantage of this rare time to ourselves. Our lives and our schedules are going to change a lot once we have three kids to take care of. If we think we’re tired now, just imagine how exhausted we’re going to be in five years.”
I wince. “That’s one thing I’m not prepared for.”
River grins. “Thank goodness we have two sets of grandparents, Uncle Benji, your brother Mal, and two great-grandparents waiting not so patiently on the sidelines and ready to pitch in and help. When we’re overwhelmed or too exhausted, they’ll be there. We won’t have to handle everything on our own.”
He’s absolutely right. It’s one of the reasons I was confident River and I could handle this new challenge going forward.
“Trust me,” River adds, “I plan to make the most of their willingness to help. Even if it means I have to subtly or not so subtly guilt my parents into giving us a break when we need one. After all, they owe me big time, and I suspect they’ll bend over backward to do for our kids what they didn’t do for me.”
His words break my hearts a little. River has forgiven his parents and accepted them back into his life far more graciously than anyone else in his situation might have. Their actions, faking their deaths and leaving him in his uncle’s care, left scars that will never fully disappear. They all lost out on precious years together, but River most of all. I’m trying to open my hearts to Melody and Chris, but I suspect it will take me a very long time before I can.
I unbutton my shirt and wrap my arms and two tentacles around him, holding him close. “They should be honored that you’re willing to let them be in your life and that of our children.”
River leans his cheek against my chest and sighs. “I know how much they regret most of their choices and all the time they lost with me while I was growing up. Even if I didn’t get the levelof care and attention from them that I needed, I’m more than happy to have them make up for lost time on that front with our kids.” He squeezes his arms around me. “You and I are going to make sure our babies have the safest and most loving and supportive upbringing possible.”
I pull him with me toward the bed, and as if by silent agreement, we shed our clothes and curl together under the covers. In the dark, I stroke my hand through those glorious curls I’ll never tire of.
“You told me earlier that our kids are going to be the most epically cool ones in the universe, but I think we’re also going to be the most incredible parents in the entire universe.”
River snuggles closer. “You bet your ass, we will. We’ll be so fucking phenomenal we could win intergalactic awards.”
I chuckle, and we both yawn again.
Riding on happy thoughts about our future, we drift toward dreamland.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Starblade didn’t resist when Vardox took him in his arms, but he gasped in surprise when Vardox dipped him backward like a dance partner.
“You have surprised me in several ways this evening. I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”
Narrowing his eyes, Starblade asked, “Are you making fun of me?”
Vardox lifted him and then yanked Starblade tight against his chest. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
The intense glint in his eyes made Starblade hesitate.
Before he could say anything, Vardox swooped in and claimed his mouth like a conquering warrior. His forked tongue savored every inch of Starblade’s mouth, licking and tasting as if he couldn’t get enough.
Much to his consternation, Starblade found himself moaning into Vardox’s mouth and hungrily kissing him with equalpassion in return. Before now, he’d always held himself back. It was a way to convince himself he wasn’t fully giving himself to Vardox, that part of him was maintaining its resistance.
But there seemed no point anymore. Damn and blast, but Starblade loved this man and he could deny it no longer.
Vardox’s villainous reputation was, as Starblade had learned, rather exaggerated. Nevertheless, now that Starblade knew Vardox’s true feelings and had admitted his own, he was going all in.
From this moment forward, he had a new mission. If he was going to fully embrace his love for Vardox, then Starblade was going to find a way to lead him toward the path of good no matter what.
—The Tentacular Tales of Captain Starblade,Ch. 171
River
